Drivers don't check oil often enough

Three quarters of motorists in the UK are risking serious damage to their engine and potentially huge repair bills by not monitoring their oil levels.

They are risking serious damage to their engine and potentially huge repair bills.

The research, by car care company Comma, reveals that 26 million of us (75% of the registered driving population) rely on the dashboard's oil warning light as a reminder to top up the oil.

Usually, the warning light only appears if serious engine damage is imminent. If this were to happen, only one in four people would follow the car manufacturer's recommendation and stop immediately, switching the engine off.

A third would continue their journey until they found an opportunity to top up, which would risk the engine seizing up altogether.

The survey also showed that young drivers are (17-24 years) are becoming increasingly less vigilant, with a quarter admitting to never checking oil.

Older motorists are not without fault either - 22% more over 65s failed to realise the severity of the oil warning light coming on than the young drivers.

Three in five drivers don't check their oil levels every month as most manufacturers recommend. One in ten say they have never checked their oil levels.